


You'll Never Know

by floatsodelicately



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2014-10-20
Packaged: 2018-02-21 22:00:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2483888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floatsodelicately/pseuds/floatsodelicately
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is fed up with Ron and Hermione's jealousy games. When he confronts Hermione about it, he realises that it might not be a game on both sides.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You'll Never Know

_"You'll never know,_

_Unless you take it there"_

_You'll Never Know – The Maine_

* * *

Harry slumped down into the chair opposite Hermione at her favourite table in the library. It was getting late and she had parted ways with him and Ron right after dinner, saying something about next week's Potions essay. Ron had stormed into the dorm in a mood, something that had become increasingly common in the last month and had flopped onto his bed in a huff. Harry's questions about what was wrong was answered with muffled grunts that he didn't investigate. It was clear what was wrong. He left it for a few minutes until Ron had calmed down slightly. The redheaded boy turned over, staring up at the ceiling above his bed.

"He was all over her."

Harry sighed, sitting upright and looked over at his best friend. He knew that Ron was upset and jealous about Hermione, and was conveniently ignoring the fact that he had been with Lavender for months and had been all over her, while Hermione was far more reserved about public displays of affection. He doubted that Cormac had been ' _all over'_ Hermione as Ron said. He had a tendency to exaggerate and he wasn't quite sure what Hermione was doing with McLaggen.

Both of his best friends had picked annoying significant others. First there was Ron with Lavender simpering and mooning over him and more often than not, shoving her tongue down his throat. Then came Hermione with the Quidditch crazed McLaggen who never ceased to irritate him during practise or just in general. At least they didn't snog all the time like Won-Won and Lav-Lav, but he had heard some rumours about them getting hot and heavy in empty corridors and once in the library when Madam Pince was heard telling the Gryffindor prefect off for the first time in six years – something that hadn't even happened when she had torn a page out of the book rather than take two minutes to check it out to rush to Dumbledore in their second year.

Being best friend to both of them, Harry had to listen to all of their complaints. Hermione crying when Ron and Lavender had kissed after the game, Ron getting annoyed when Hermione had taken McLaggen to the Slug Club party, _Hermione_ getting annoyed when she had taken McLaggen to the Slug Club party…the complaints had changed shortly after that. Ron began complaining more about Lavender's clinginess and Hermione's distance, Hermione was irritated with Lavender's constant presence and bitchy comments, but she was distracted by something…she didn't complain about McLaggen as much. Only that she had to stay later in the library some nights because he had distracted her, she didn't say how. Sometimes she mentioned him saying something rude about Ron and Ginny, but even Harry had a hard time defending Ron against McLaggen's comment, Ron had become increasingly hostile about the Hermione/Lavender/McLaggen situation and wasn't shy about it.

Their relationship was strained, which meant that Harry was spending more time with Ron, and less with Hermione, it was simply too difficult to be around both of them when they started sniping at each other. He had been distracted by Ginny and Dean, too distracted to take note of the fact that Hermione was getting closer to McLaggen than he realised. He was tired of it though, tired of their anger and jealousy and games. So that was how he found himself sitting across from Hermione, with a troubled frown on his face.

"So…"

Hermione's head snapped up, apparently she hadn't noticed him sit down at her table. "Oh, hi Harry."

"Hermione," he sighed. "Don't you think this has gone on for long enough?"

She bristled and shut her book before looking back at him. "What exactly are you talking about?"

He knew from her icy tone that he should tread carefully, but he was exhausted with it all. There was too much teenage angst this year, between this mess and Malfoy being up to something, as well as Sirius' death all those months ago, Harry was fed up.

He groaned and fell back in his seat. "You know what I mean! You and Ron and these _stupid games,_ all this jealousy game nonsense, I've had it!"

She went to interrupt but he cut her off, "He dumped Lavender last night, you really don't have to carry on with this McLaggen stuff. We can just go back to-"

"Back to what, Harry? What are these games that you're suggesting that I'm playing?" she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

Knowing that he was on thin ice, he tried a gentler approach. "I'm just saying that we can go back being best friends again and maybe you…you and Ron could…"

"Ron and I could what? Harry?"

"Hermione, you know full well what I mean," he said sharply, this changing from soft to tough thing was driving him mad, he had been doing this with Ron all afternoon as well. "Ron likes you, you like Ron, you can be together now if you jus-"

"Like _d,"_ she corrected.

"W-what?"

"I like _d_ Ron, past tense. I asked Ron to the party, he clearly wasn't interested. You can't be mad at me for seeing someone who is."

"If it's just finding someone who's interested then-"

"No, it's not that. Cormac likes me, he made it clear to me. He doesn't moan or groan when I go off on a tangent, he doesn't mock me when I do things the muggle way when I'm stressed, he doesn't bore me with Quidditch talk-"

"He's obsessed with Quidditch!"

"Yes, but he's been teaching me rather than rambling on about wronski feints and the bloody Chudley Cannons-"

"But you don't like Quidditch!"

"I do," she replied snappishly. "I just don't like playing. If I wanted to fall to my death from a great height, I'd love nothing more than chasing snitches and getting beaten up by bludgers, but as it stands, I prefer my feet on the ground."

Harry sighed, "We've gotten off topic. I thought you didn't like him."

She shrugged, "I didn't know him."

"And you do now?" he asked, unsure of what answer he wanted. He roomed with four boys and at least one of them – Seamus – had drunkenly described how he'd like to _get to know_ Hermione which had resulted in firm smacks from all the other boys in their dorm.

"Did you know Cho?"

"What? How does that-"

She interrupted his question, "You were head over heels in love with Cho for ages, did you know her?"

"Yes, not that well, but-"

Hermione carried on over him, "I didn't say that I was in love with Cormac, but I've gotten to know him and I like him. He toned it down after the party, he took me to Hogsmeade to make up for all of that. My mum's always said that 'You never know unless you take it there'." She shrugged, looking away from Harry's surprised gaze. "So when he asked, I gave him another chance. I'm sorry if Ron has suddenly decided that I've wronged him somehow, but it's not fair that you assume that I'm being cruel or vindictive-"

Harry lurched forward, reaching over the table towards her, "I never said that!" he squeaked.

"You may as well have, telling me to put a stop to all of this 'jealousy game nonsense'!"

"I-I-" Harry floundered for a response.

"'I-I-' _nothing,_ Harry. Why can't I have a relationship without it being about Ron?" her voice hitched as she continued. "I'm not going to ask you to pick a side. It's juvenile and ridiculous and it honestly doesn't matter," she looked over his shoulder and began packing up her books and parchment.

"I don't want to – wait, what do you mean it doesn't matter?"

She stood up, looking down at him sadly, as if he should know the answer. "Because you already picked Ron," she answered as she swept her book off the desk and walked away from the table.

Harry stared at the place that she had been for a moment before jumping out of his seat and turning to rush to follow her. When he did, he saw that she hadn't made it that far.

He couldn't see her face, but he saw her shoulders trembling as they did when she cried. He saw someone moving quickly towards her and started to go to her, only to pause when he caught the scowl on McLaggen's face as he glared at him.

They turned to go, Hermione's shoulder's shaking less as Cormac wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him. He couldn't hear what he said to her, he was too far to her his whisper, but he did hear Hermione's sniffle followed by a sob that he had never wanted to cause. Her boyfriend, because that's what he clearly was, not some guy she was using to make Ron jealous like they had believed, rubbed her arm comfortingly and wiped the tears from her face. They reached the doors of the library when Cormac turned around again.

If looks would kill, Cormac McLaggen would have slaughtered The Boy-Who-Lived where he stood. And he felt like he deserved nothing more than that.


End file.
